Music and Movies
Using the CDP-300 as the digital source component, I appreciated the
way the TFT screens could compliment one another. I set the SSP-600 to
display the output of the CDP-300, whether it is CD track information,
DVD-Audio menu information, or DVD movies, while the CDP-300 displayed
operation functions of the current disc format it was playing.

The late Layne Staley is one of my favorite vocalists, who had a
signature tone to his sound that was unique and unmistakable. His early
demise left behind his story in song that was soulful and disturbing in
its deep revelation of inner pain and confusion. Staley did a side
project called Mad Season (Columbia Records), with Pearl Jam’s ax man
Mike McCreedy, the late John Baker Saunders on bass and Barrett Martin
on drums. “Wake Up” is a dreamy tune that highlights Staley’s vocal
chops in a different, more effortless way than did his stint with Alice
In Chains. The SSP-600 allowed the CDP-300 to render the vocal textures
with a no-nonsense presentation, sounding uncolored and natural. The
inflection of Staley’s sound is relaxed and easygoing, and that was how
the SSP-600 let it through. The sound was neither analytical nor
fatiguing in any way. “River Of Deceit” was hauntingly beautiful and
insightful to Staley’s state of mind. McCreedy’s guitar work on this
tune highlighted the upper-frequency presentation of the SSP-600. The
transient information of the strings, while not the most resolute that
I’ve heard, was intact and detailed, with a nice space around them.
Baker’s lazy bass had presence and authority, underscoring Staley’s
wordsmith. Willy Porter’s acoustic guitar work was amazing and sounded
very good through the SSP-600. The body of the guitar had a convincing
presence and depth to its sound. Porter’s vocals were locked dead
center and well back of the speakers. Midrange bloom added a nice
musical experience and the quietness of the soundstage brought up
details that sometimes get buried in the mix of processors.

The quietness of the SSP-600 and its ability to resolve multi-channel
recordings was demonstrated with aplomb with Toy Matinee’s DVD-Audio,
recorded both in DTS 5.1 and MLP 5.1. The soundstage on “Last Plane
Out” was seamless and pinpoint-accurate, highlighting the processor’s
decoding prowess. I’ve only heard it better with the Linn Kisto and
Unidisk 1.1 combo, which cost quite a bit more than the CDP-300 and
SSP-600. The acoustic guitar and textured bass line, while lacking a
bit of energy at the lower end of the spectrum, were resolute and
articulate. Kevin Gilbert’s vocals were well laid-back in front, with
accompanying backing vocals from the side in an enveloping, detailed
sound. “Things She Said” further detailed the decoding ability of the
SSP-600 with nice layering and openness to the music.

The SSP-600 accomplished video switching and pass-through very well,
and did an excellent job of leaving the image intact. Using my new Sony
KDS-60A2000 SXRD RPTV as the display, I ran HD through the SSP-600 on
my DirecTV HD receiver, using Cardas component video cables. The
results were that nothing noticeable changed, which is a very good
thing. All images, whether football or nature shows on HDNet, looked
the same through the SSP-600, as though straight out of the HD receiver
into the TV. There were no noticeable noise artifacts or idealization,
and color rendition, color separation and edge definition all appeared
none the worse for wear.

Movie soundtracks are the strong point of the SSP-600. Underworld:
Evolution (Columbia/TriStar Home Entertainment) offered the opportunity
to experience the SSP-600 under the soundtrack onslaught of the opening
chapter, where the vampires are trying to capture the leader of the
Lycan werewolves. The LFE decoding detailed the thunder with visceral
impact, while the higher-frequency information made it seem that it was
coming from all directions in a very convincing way. Lycan swords
striking the armor of the vampires sounded at times like it were in the
room and eye-blinking in its intensity at loud volumes. Later, when the
villain tracked down the heroine, played by Kate Beckinsale, and the
ensuing truck escape scene has the flying vampire trying to push the
truck with Beckinsale inside into the mountain, with screeching metal
and crashing rocks convincing in their intensity.